Rockchick_uk
Well-Known Member
As some of you may remember before i went on holiday to Canada in May i broke in my best friends 3 year old Welsh Cob Gelding, Chester.
He was a complete dream and did not put a foot wrong at all. I left for Canada with my friend able to tack up and ride him quite happily and was looking forward to coming home and begining his education on the roads.
Anyway while i was in Canada he went off his legs and was diagnosed with Catagory 3 Wobblers Syndrome. The night i flew home i literally threw my bags in my house and drove over to my friends as i knew how upset she was, at half past 12 that night after 48 hours of travelling i was sitting in my best friends backgarden with her sobbing telling me he had progressed to a catagory 5 and the vets had recommended Putting Chester to Sleep.
My Original post is here http://www.equine-world.co.uk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56985
She told me that they had been told of a operation that could save him but the likelyhood of it working was very slim and he might passaway during the proceedures etc.
My best friend asked me what she should do as she would do what i said as she knew it would be for the best for Chester.
I remember sitting there and thinking of my Indi, i have never given up on him when he needed me and im a strong believer in where there is hope, you have to try. I told my friend that she had to try.
The next day she called the vets and told them that he was not going to be put to sleep and that we wanted to go ahead and get him sent down to liphook for whatever treatment he needed.
A month later he was sent down to Liphook Equine Hospital and we met John Walmsley for the first time, apparently he is the Uks Leading expert in Wobblers.
Mr Walmsley warned that if Chester came through all the proceedures there was a strong risk that he could die from his vertebrae cracking etc. Infact he was more negative than positive when he first saw how bad Chester was but we were adament that it was better to try than give up.
The first proceedure which was a Myleogram to isolate where the pressure was effecting Chesters Spine thus causing the Wobblers. We knew he may not come through the operation and their was a risk if he did the myleogram ran the risk of not being sucessfull. I think everyone must of had their fingers crossed for this special little horse because he not only survived the operation but the Myleogram was successful and pinpointed the compression point on his spine exactly.
John Walmsley called my friend and i think he was a little shocked *laughs out loud*.
Anyway the second proceedure involved going through Chesters chest to get to the point in his neck that the Myleogram had isolated the pressure and fitting Titanium baskets to stop anything pressing on the spinal cord. If the baskets did not move the vertebrae would fuse around the baskets thus stopping the compression on the spine and stopping the wobblers syndrome.
Chester had the baskets fitted and again this remarkable young horse surpassed expectation and came through the operation.
He was allowed to come home a week later. I will always remember sticking my head over his stable door and seeing his swollen chest, staples and shaved mane. But he was still his cheeky self and tried to chew my top!!!
The next step was 3 months of 24/7 box rest, was a hard long slog but my friend and her family got through it ok.
Then for the next month Chester was allowed out for 2 x 15 min walks in hand every day. I got to admit he was quite naughty the first few times *laughs out loud*.
And then the day came for him to go out in the field, this i think was the scariest time because Mr Walmsley had warned that even after everything Chester had been through there was a risk that when he went out if he bucked and ran and basically pratted about the vertebrae could shatter and everything would of been for nothing as he would of had to be put to sleep.
Anyway i will cut to the chase..............
Chester has been out 2 months now, the vets came back yesterday to assess him and i am over the moon to say that the head vet who came out said Chester is 100% Better and that if he didnt know this horse had wobblers he would never of said he had it now!!! and he wants to see my friend riding him in the next few months!!!!
He also said that Chester is the first Welsh cob he has seen with this disorder himself and that he wants to write a paper on Chesters story!
So sorry this is a long post but i just had to share to prove that even when when everything is against you, keep your head and follow your heart because you never know how things are going to turn out.
He was a complete dream and did not put a foot wrong at all. I left for Canada with my friend able to tack up and ride him quite happily and was looking forward to coming home and begining his education on the roads.
Anyway while i was in Canada he went off his legs and was diagnosed with Catagory 3 Wobblers Syndrome. The night i flew home i literally threw my bags in my house and drove over to my friends as i knew how upset she was, at half past 12 that night after 48 hours of travelling i was sitting in my best friends backgarden with her sobbing telling me he had progressed to a catagory 5 and the vets had recommended Putting Chester to Sleep.
My Original post is here http://www.equine-world.co.uk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56985
She told me that they had been told of a operation that could save him but the likelyhood of it working was very slim and he might passaway during the proceedures etc.
My best friend asked me what she should do as she would do what i said as she knew it would be for the best for Chester.
I remember sitting there and thinking of my Indi, i have never given up on him when he needed me and im a strong believer in where there is hope, you have to try. I told my friend that she had to try.
The next day she called the vets and told them that he was not going to be put to sleep and that we wanted to go ahead and get him sent down to liphook for whatever treatment he needed.
A month later he was sent down to Liphook Equine Hospital and we met John Walmsley for the first time, apparently he is the Uks Leading expert in Wobblers.
Mr Walmsley warned that if Chester came through all the proceedures there was a strong risk that he could die from his vertebrae cracking etc. Infact he was more negative than positive when he first saw how bad Chester was but we were adament that it was better to try than give up.
The first proceedure which was a Myleogram to isolate where the pressure was effecting Chesters Spine thus causing the Wobblers. We knew he may not come through the operation and their was a risk if he did the myleogram ran the risk of not being sucessfull. I think everyone must of had their fingers crossed for this special little horse because he not only survived the operation but the Myleogram was successful and pinpointed the compression point on his spine exactly.
John Walmsley called my friend and i think he was a little shocked *laughs out loud*.
Anyway the second proceedure involved going through Chesters chest to get to the point in his neck that the Myleogram had isolated the pressure and fitting Titanium baskets to stop anything pressing on the spinal cord. If the baskets did not move the vertebrae would fuse around the baskets thus stopping the compression on the spine and stopping the wobblers syndrome.
Chester had the baskets fitted and again this remarkable young horse surpassed expectation and came through the operation.
He was allowed to come home a week later. I will always remember sticking my head over his stable door and seeing his swollen chest, staples and shaved mane. But he was still his cheeky self and tried to chew my top!!!
The next step was 3 months of 24/7 box rest, was a hard long slog but my friend and her family got through it ok.
Then for the next month Chester was allowed out for 2 x 15 min walks in hand every day. I got to admit he was quite naughty the first few times *laughs out loud*.
And then the day came for him to go out in the field, this i think was the scariest time because Mr Walmsley had warned that even after everything Chester had been through there was a risk that when he went out if he bucked and ran and basically pratted about the vertebrae could shatter and everything would of been for nothing as he would of had to be put to sleep.
Anyway i will cut to the chase..............
Chester has been out 2 months now, the vets came back yesterday to assess him and i am over the moon to say that the head vet who came out said Chester is 100% Better and that if he didnt know this horse had wobblers he would never of said he had it now!!! and he wants to see my friend riding him in the next few months!!!!
He also said that Chester is the first Welsh cob he has seen with this disorder himself and that he wants to write a paper on Chesters story!
So sorry this is a long post but i just had to share to prove that even when when everything is against you, keep your head and follow your heart because you never know how things are going to turn out.
